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The Central Florida Sports Commission and Daytona International Speedway, in partnership with Volusia County, hosted the Daytona Beach Half Marathon as part of Daytona 500 Qualifying presented by Kroger.

The race began at 6:30 a.m. and among the NASCAR drivers participating were five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who ran the 13.1 mile trek in 90-minutes; Aric Almirola, Kasey Kahne, and two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip.

Runners began the half marathon on pit road at DIS and circled around the first two miles of the track before heading beachside. They then returned to the speedway for the finish and a trip to Gatorade Victory Lane.

Local ties to that run included 2011 Mahoning Valley Speedway Late Model champion Austin Kochenash, who also races at Mountain Speedway in Butler Township, along with his aunt, Rhonda Heffelfinger Wenner, both from Danielsville and avid runners. They have competed in the annual “Run for the Cannoli” in Hazleton.

Kochenash had intentions to race a Modified at Daytona for the Battle at the Beach show plus run features at New Smyrna but he was short funded and decided against it. He will race his Modified this season on the Race of Champions pavement series tour plus hit most all of the local and regional big money shows including those at Mountain and Mahoning Valley.

Just to touch on Saturday night’s racing at Daytona -- speed, speed and more speed. Watching the ARCA 200 and then the NASCAR Sprint Unlimited, it was inspiring to see stock cars run at near 200 mph.

As the cars whiz by you can almost feel them cutting through the air. And as I mentioned before, television just doesn’t do it justice. Plus the pack racing has everyone’s attention and it would be safe to say you don’t need to be a race fan to genuinely enjoy this type of sport.

The speed was quite evident again today during qualifying with nearly 200 mph. And, it was something watching Danica Patrick make NASCAR history when she won the pole for the 500, becoming the first female to score a pole in a Sprint Cup race

I for one have been a little skeptical of her coming to stock cars as I felt she had a good thing going with IndyCar and had no real experience with the stockers. However, I have eased up a little after seeing her run the past few days. I think, though, that she still has a long way to go.

The speed in Speedweeks carried over to Volusia Speedway Park on Sunday night with the World of Outlaw (WoO) STP Sprint Car Series. Volusia is considered the fastest dirt half-mile oval in the country and it was easy to see why. The Sprinters have been clocked there at just over 145 mph. A wide, D-shaped track, there is no lifting here, just flat out all the way around.

“The Dude” Danny Lasoski took his 20th career Volusia win. Tony Stewart proved why he is a racer's racer. Earlier in the day he was running at Daytona and Sunday night he was in his sprint car, something he does on a regular basis.

Other NASCAR personalities hitting the dirt included Kasey Kahne, Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace, Austin Dillon and Justin Allgaier. Kahne is a sprinter while the latter all were in IMCA-type Modifieds.

This marked the opener for the WoO, known as the “Greatest Show on Dirt, which will now embark on close to 100 features from now until November.

One other highlight at Volusia, aside from seeing all the stars with the WoO, was getting to watch legendary Modified ace Buzzie Reutimann. I had not seen him race since the late 1970s at the former Nazareth half mile and he still had his signature No. 00. Very cool.

I hear it was bitter cold in Hazleton but it was not much better here either. When we left Volusia at the end of the night it was 36 degrees, no weather for racing.

The next two days there will be plenty of focus back at Daytona Speedway with the inaugural Battle at the Beach. NASCAR Whelan Modifieds, K&N Pro Series and NASCAR Late Models on a specially constructed 4/10-mile track on the Super Stretch. For short track racers this is the focal point of Speedweeks.

Two locals, past Mountain Speedway champs Dave Brigatti and Matt Hirschman, are entered in the Modified race. SPEEDTV will air the events Monday and Tuesday evening and both are worth tuning into.